It is not uncommon for our community to associate the library as a place where books are kept. How do we let our community know that a library is more than that? How do we make our community understand that we can make a difference? How does our community perceive the library? It is important for us as librarians to understand the role played by each and every one of us in building that image. Advocacy as a term is derived from Public Relations which is further a concept of Marketing. Effective advocacy connects the library and the community in a single thread. Libraries are undergoing a transformative phase from the physical to the virtual. Questions are being raised globally on the relevance of libraries in the future. Today libraries are being asked to give more with less. Library associations such as ALA, IFLA, CILIP and many more are leading the cause for advocating the case for libraries by providing toolkits and guidance through many ways.

There are many resources to help different types of libraries and librarians in developing an advocacy approach within their community.

As stated on its website, “Advocacy University is a comprehensive clearinghouse of advocacy tools and resources for all types of libraries from the American Library Association.” The various resources can be searched under ‘Resources by Topic’, ‘Resources by challenge’ and ‘Resources by Specific Groups’

Through the IFLA School Library Manifesto and Guidelines, IFLA has listed a host of links to blogs, school library associations and various other sites for advocating the importance of school libraries.

3 Comments

Thanks for a great article on this vital subject.
Was at a library today when kiddies storytime was scheduled, and no-one arrived. 🙁 Wondering if the event is advertised in the right places, esp on social media.